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No H7N9 letup as Guangxi detections prompt warning

China reported nine new H7N9 influenza cases today, including the third from Guangxi province, signaling a rise in disease activity in a region that borders Vietnam along with the first reports of poultry market detections there, according to a warning today from an animal health group.

The other eight new cases are from two provinces—Guangdong and Zhejiang—that are reporting the largest portion of cases in the second wave, which has now eclipsed the first wave by a growing margin. So far 174 cases have been reported in the outbreak’s second wave, compared to 136 recorded during the first spike in disease activity last spring.

Nine cases from three provinces
Zhejiang province reported four case-patients, including a 67-year-old man in severe condition, a 49-year-old man in critical condition, and two women, ages 35 and 59, who are hospitalized in severe condition, according to official statements translated and posted by Avian Flu Diary (AFD), an infectious disease news blog, and FluTrackers, an infectious disease message board.

Guangdong province also reported four cases, in a 5-year-old girl and a 49-year-old man listed in stable condition and in two men, ages 42 and 56, who are hospitalized in critical condition, according to official notices posted by AFD and FluTrackers.

The case from Guangxi province is in a 5-year-old boy who is in stable condition. The boy’s infection marks the third from the province, a mountainous area located southwest of the main outbreak hot spots, notable because it borders northern Vietnam.